Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs
North Block, New Delhi-110 001
Tel. No. : +91-11-23092849, Fax No. : +91-11-23092890
E-mail : ajit.m@gov.in
D.O. No. 36/CH(IC)/2020
Date: 12th October 2020
We are on the verge of a festival season while our fight against Covid-19 continues unabated even after almost eight months. Our Hon’ble Prime Minister has launched a campaign on 8th October 2020 for a Jan Andolan on Covid-19. It calls for appropriate behaviour from citizens, especially in view of the upcoming festivals in the winter season as well as the opening up of the economy. The three key aspects of the fight at an individual and societal level are ‘Wearing Mask, Following Physical Distancing and Maintaining Hand Hygiene’. I am happy to note that officers and staff in all formations have taken the pledge to continue the fight against the pandemic and have been observing these norms correctly.
The Action Plan for the year 2020-21 was communicated to field formations in the first week of August, 2020. The ‘Action Plan 2020-21’ takes forward the ‘Vision and Mission’ of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC). It is therefore important to periodically review the progress made and assess ourselves. DGPM has been compiling and collating the progress report on various timelines for the actionable points. The heads of the Zones and the Directorates are requested to keep a tab on their respective targets and scrupulously adhere to the prescribed timelines. Board is keen that the timelines mentioned therein for various activities are kept pace with.
RTI NACIN (Chennai) is conducting a series of voluntary training sessions on Tamil Language for the non-Tamil speaking officers in Chennai Zone who have a desire to learn Tamil. The course is proposed to be conducted over a span of 12 weeks. The training is expected to help officers in their communication with stakeholders and in their day-to-day working. This would help the department interact better with the trade. I am hopeful that such vernacular language trainings would be undertaken in other zones also. This will also augment our understanding of local factors and enable more effective communication.
Delhi Customs officers at the Airport have busted a smuggling racket in wrist watches of foreign origin. While the initial detection at the airport lead to seizure of watches valued at Rs. 51.56 lakh, in subsequent searches at various business and residential premises, almost 200 watches of different expensive foreign brands valued at Rs 5.24 crore have been recovered.
In multiple seizures, the Airport Intelligence Unit at Mumbai Airport made seizures of smuggled Gold Bars weighing 2.5 Kgs worth Rs. 1.15 crore and loose Cut and Polished Diamonds with a net weight 3383 CT and valued at Rs. 4.29 crore.
The officers of DRI Indore and DRI Bhopal, with the support of Narsinghpur Police, in a day and night operation, intercepted few vehicles that were destined for Chennai and seized Narcotic drugs i.e. 117 Kgs of Hashish valued approximately at Rs. 6 crore, for violation of the provisions of the NDPS Act. Smuggling of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances are a major direct threat to the health of our citizens. The officers involved in all the above seizures are hence deserving of our appreciation.
I wish you and your family a safe and healthy time as we enter the festival months usually associated with huge public participation. Let us in this regard observe and help spread the timely message of the Jan Andolan on Covid-19 which was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister last week.
yours sincerely,
M. Ajit Kumar
To,
All Officers and Staff of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
